The other day, I went to a Japanese restaurant nearby. I used to go there once a month or so, because I like their rolls and hand rolls with fresh ingredients. I took a look at the Special menu, ALL, I mean ALL the rolls had either Jalapeno, or hot chili pepper, or wasabi in it!

I thought that was just a one-off case, that a restaurant went a bit overboard in the new fashion of making hot spicy sushi rolls. But last week, I walked into another Japanese restaurant and found their ENTIRE menu was just choke full of hot, tongue burning spices!

Then, my favorite Chinese take out near work, a very popular take out joint, went from one out of four dish has hot spice to 3 out of 4 dish have hot spices!!!

I know it's kind of fashionable to have hot spicy dishes these days. It may be a fashion that might just die down in a couple years. But...

Only a few years back, salt was THE "taste enhancer" for lazy chefs to "pick up" tasteless dishes. While that was under attack for health reason, it seems they latch onto another cheap way around. By adding hot sauces and tongue burning spices to every dish, they can get away with not having much taste in the food and the eater just can't tell the difference. All they taste are the overly pungent spices!

A friend of mine had terrible stomach issues after being "trained" by her husband to tolerant hot spices FOR YEARS. I wonder when will the medical professionals figure out there's no "free lunch" for poorly made dishes dressed up in hot spices. The price maybe trashed stomach liners down the road some years later!

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

9/23/17 9:03 PM

I got to the point with hot food that my upper GI is highly tolerant, but like your friend, the lower GI can't do it anymore.

That said, we tried Poke bowls today, this has gotten pretty big here in PDX. First real spicy food I have had out for a long while. Same, what seems like a 5 in the mouth my stomach reminds me is a 8-9.

Is this getting big in any other cities of our users here?

I did make a spicy sauce the other day for a seared chicken on grilled sourdough open sandwich I made. So I guess maybe I started missing some heat...

Salt, we use a few sea salts, fav is Grey French, and usually some Indian Black pepper corns that will light you up from Penzy's spice shop. Get the Grey there too. Also use pink sea salt too.

But "the price may be trashed stomach liners down the road some years later" just isn't true. https://www.today.com/health/spicy-foods-health-effects-adding-heat-your-meal-t73591 You may trash your stomach liner with McRibs or alcohol or whatever, but spicy food isn't the problem, probably. Though the "burning ring of fire" is a real thing, but I don't think most of us needed a study to know that fact. I think gastrointestinal sensitivity to spicy food is just part of aging, like I used to be able to drink beer until 4am and make my 9am lecture and be able to focus and take notes. 25 years later I can't do that anymore. I'm not blaming it on spicy food though.

I'm not a fan of so spicy that it becomes a challenge to eat, but normal spicey is alright by me.

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

9/24/17 1:25 AM

"Except it's probably not wasabi..."

Except what is probably not wasabi? The exorbitant amount of 'Chile Oil' in my Poke? ;)

Actually, I misPoke when I said stomach, it is a bit south of that if you wanna get right down to it...

KerryIronsJoined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 2880
Location: Midland, MI

9/25/17 10:28 AM

Taste

There's taste and then there's heat. There is a range of desire and tolerance for heat but when the heat overwhelms the taste then you're missing the true pleasure of the food. For some, I guess, heat is part of the pleasure but if you want to find food that tastes good, ask for it with low heat the first time and see if you like it. Masking "not great taste" with heat is indeed a cheap trick.

AprilJoined: 13 Dec 2003
Posts: 6208
Location: Westchester/NYC

9/26/17 12:49 PM

I like the occasional hot dishes. Actually, I prefer "spicy" rather than "hot". A bit of a "kick" but not overwhelming heat.

But my main grip isn't with the level of heat. It's the across-the-board hot dishes in a menu!

There're regions of the world where EVERY dish is HOT! Thailand, some of China, some part of India subcontinent, etc. And there're regions of the world where EVERY dish is sweet (Shanghai)! Probably region of the world every dish has something sour in it...

But New York is not. Chicago is not. Reno is not. And certainly not Japanese restaurant in Reno, or New York!

I fear it's a cheap trick by lazy chefs who, instead of being creative and come up with good tasting dishes with quality ingredients, some went the way of adding more chili pepper!

Jesus SavesJoined: 16 Jun 2005
Posts: 1050
Location: South of Heaven

9/26/17 12:52 PM

Wasabi is a Japanese horseradish. It comes from the same plant family as "regular" horseradish. In Japan, the use of horseradish is not all that common as you will find here in the USA with or without the substitute. The reason for it is true wasabi is $$$ - it's a bit scarce. True wasabi is also more pungent than spicy - that is it will more likely affect your nose more than your tongue or stomach. Not to be confused with the other green...using avocado in sushi is also uncommon unlike that found in the USA.

PLeeJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 3555
Location: Brooklyn, NY

9/26/17 1:04 PM

I've noticed what April is pointing out, too. More and more menu items will include a hint or more of heat. I like it when it is part of a broader palette of tastes and flavors, and I can occasionally go for a real vindaloo . . .

It's showing up in a lot of recipes, too. I see red pepper flakes popping up as an ingredient in unlikely places more and more.

PLeeJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 3555
Location: Brooklyn, NY

9/26/17 1:05 PM

JS speaks truth. Real wasabi will clear your sinuses quickly . . .

daddy-oJoined: 12 Apr 2004
Posts: 2977
Location: Springfield

9/26/17 2:52 PM

using avocado in sushi is also uncommon unlike that found in the USA

People scoff at Americanization of countries' cuisine. I say it's a shame what's done at McDonald's and KFC export franchises.

dan emeryJoined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 5857
Location: Maine

9/26/17 4:34 PM

Avocado - oh no!

Daddy, do McDonald's and KFC serve sushi?

I get most of my sushi at Hannaford, the local supermarket chain. I'm sure it's not as good as what you get in Japan, but it's fresh (they make it in front of you, not like the shrinkwrapped crap I've seen at Safeway on the Left Coast) and tasty, they do use avocado in some items (I like avocado anywhere), and recently more items have a spicy sauce (you can get plenty without, though all come with the traditional "wasabi" and soy sauce and sliced ginger).

When I've got really hot stuff at restaurants recently, the waitstaff has tried to talk me out of it, so I don't think it was a gimmick. At a Mexican restaurant in DC recently, I ordered a fish dish with a hot green sauce and they asked me if I wanted it on the side, I confidently said no, and they still served it in a ring around the outside of the plate, with the fish in the middle. First bite I edged a tiny corner into the sauce, and my mouth exploded. I admitted defeat (the fish was still great).

Another hot item I could not eat was the Fireball sandwich at the former Bill's Pizza in Yarmouth - hot sausage, spicy mustard and spicy relish. One bite and I tossed it - I told them and they offered me my $ back, but I said no, I just wasn't man enough.

OTOH they try to talk you off the Nashville Chicken at a local place, but I handle that fine.

Last edited by dan emery on 9/26/17 4:54 PM; edited 1 time in total

Pat ClancyJoined: 13 Jan 2004
Posts: 1343
Location: Manchester, CT

9/26/17 5:00 PM

Even Buffalo wings are getting hotter

I've always liked modest spice, but not real heat. And I'll admit I enjoy that most plebeian of appetizers, Buffalo wings. Most of the restaurants in this area offer a range of heat (the descriptions can be amusing) and I've noticed that even the supposedly mildest wings have gotten too hot for me to eat. What am I to do?

daddy-oJoined: 12 Apr 2004
Posts: 2977
Location: Springfield

9/26/17 5:17 PM

SMH
</humor>

Jesus SavesJoined: 16 Jun 2005
Posts: 1050
Location: South of Heaven

9/26/17 5:41 PM

While working in Japan, I enjoyed eating McDonald's teriyaki hamburger with my "American" coffee. While I rarely eat McDonalds now, mostly at highway rest stops, it was a savior for me there. That is, it was the only place I could get something resembling a proper breakfast after a morning workout. Most japanese do not eat breakfast, and if they do it is something very light like toast and tea or a bowl of rice...even in a large metro area like Tokyo. Restaurants serving breakfast are a diamond in the rough.

PLeeJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 3555
Location: Brooklyn, NY

9/27/17 9:58 AM

My favorite breakfast in Tokyo - stopping into a Lawson's or 7-Eleven and grabbing two onigiri - rice balls stuffed with various fillings like pickled plum or fish and wrapped in seaweed. Delicious and cheap - something like $1.50 each.

I noticed that, in the last couple of years, they've added pictures of the fillings to the labels so I don't have to guess at the Japanese labels anymore.

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

9/27/17 10:45 AM

I noticed maybe 20 years ago, the effect the west coast [CA?] was having on American Sushi. Things like avocado and maybe 10 years ago the mayo/sriracha.. I want my chili oil, not the distinct flavor sriracha has in it's place ;) And I like sriracha pretty much. I make a dipping sauce for my Salsa Verda [instead of cyan sauce] Hot Wings with good ranch and sriracha with some horse radish in it.

Brian NystromJoined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 3905
Location: Nashua, NH

9/27/17 12:14 PM

Interesting topic

When I was in Thailand in the early '90's, I found that while there was plenty of hot food available, it was easy to find food that was more aromatic and delicately spiced. Even the hot foods were very flavorful, not just hot for hot's sake.

The first time I even had sweet potato french fries was at a Wendy's in Taipei, Taiwan. I thought the color looked funny and was surprised when I took the first bite. They were the standard fries on the menu. The was a "my-do-now" (McDonald's) and a KFC on the same block as my hotel, with a 7-11 on the corner. Frankly, I was disgusted to see that and didn't eat at any of them.

Menus have changed here in New England, but I think it's more a matter of a broadening of offerings than a trend toward hotter food. It would be hard for food to not get hotter overall, considering that when I was a kid, everything seemed to have mayonnaise on it and tartar sauce was considered spicy and exotic. The manly men ate mustard! ;-)

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

9/27/17 12:27 PM

"sweet potato french fries"

Luv those. A place near by here makes sweet potato hot cakes so good I have to detour so I don't pass by and have to resist the temptation...

AprilJoined: 13 Dec 2003
Posts: 6208
Location: Westchester/NYC

9/27/17 3:38 PM

Why resist?

Anything bad about it?

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

9/27/17 4:58 PM

"Anything bad about it?"

Calories...

Brian NystromJoined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 3905
Location: Nashua, NH

9/28/17 3:56 AM

Yeah, but don't you know that sweet potatoes are considered a "super food" now, so the calories don't count! ;-)

Jesus SavesJoined: 16 Jun 2005
Posts: 1050
Location: South of Heaven

9/28/17 8:21 AM

"Frankly, I was disgusted to see that and didn't eat at any of them. "

That is an opportunity missed.

For instance, the McDonald in Japan serves food that tastes like it was prepared fresh and not straight out of a freezer. The french fries taste like the ones I recall from the 70s/80s here...maybe they use lard (unsure), but definitely fresher tasting and with more flavor (the lard?).

In the Philippines, the KFC chicken is like normal sized, truly free range and organic personified chicken.

Lawsons and 7-11, too, are definitely a godsend. It took me a while to discover the rice balls. I think I did so out of savaging desperation - getting tired of eating a snickers and a can of coke for breakfast purchased at the local news stand.

AprilJoined: 13 Dec 2003
Posts: 6208
Location: Westchester/NYC

10/8/17 8:35 PM

Speaking of these fast food joints, KFC is the one outfit that sticking to high salt as their signature flavor! Their chickens had gotten significantly saltier lately!

Even noticed their advertisement is now focused solely on price, never mention their taste, unlike their previous advertisement used to focus on.